5th Venture

BOB SPALDING - THE FIFTH VENTURE They say you can judge a man by the company he keeps and, if that is so, then Bob Spalding is a musician whose credentials have been established at the very highest level. Bob's association with The Ventures stretches back some thirty years, during which time he has developed the chameleon-like ability to play unerringly in the style of Nokie Edwards, Gerry McGee, Bob Bogle and Don Wilson as and when required. In fact he has deputised for them all, both in the studio and out on the road, and Don Wilson affectionately refers to him as the Fifth Venture. Bob Bogle also wryly observes that, given sufficient rehearsal time, he may be able to stand-in for Leon Taylor on the drums too! Bob's interest in the guitar stems back to the fifties when, like most other teenagers, his ear was caught by the early rock'n'roll performances of country guitarists such as Scotty Moore and Hank Garland. It was, however, the venomous power chords and more sinister sound of Link Wray in 1959 that first made the guitar really meaningful for him. By 1961 he was playing in a local band named The Delphies with his brother Perry and a couple of friends, performing mostly Duane Eddy instrumentals - without the key changes - he now confesses! Another early guitar influence was Dave Yorko of Johnny & The Hurricanes, but it was to be the arrival of The Ventures with their rather more sophisticated approach that really provided the spark and inspiration that fuelled his dreams and ambitions. In 1962 Bob's family was stationed in Japan with the US military and he was lucky enough to be one of very few westerners to witness The Ventures' first tour of Japan as they appeared alongside Bobby Vee and Jo Ann Campbell. I remember Don and Bob marching out on stage in their grey shark-skin suits and completely mesmerising the crowd with Walk Don't Run Bob recalled. They also did The McCoy, Yellow Bird, Hats Off To Larry and finished with Perfidia which drove the audience crazy again. What struck me most was that they played perfectly, and even though there were only two of them they sounded just like their records. I don't think they knew it then, but Don and Bob were the real headliners of that tour even though they appeared sandwiched between Campbell and Vee. In Japan he struggled with a few short-lived lessons on classical guitar, avidly listening and watching other guitarists to learn as much as he possibly could and making good progress. Towards the end of 1962 the family moved to Austin, Texas and Bob soon began playing professionally in the R&B bands that proliferated in that area. He would, however, always try to persuade them to play his preferred Ventures material. In 1964 he made his first recordings with The Nomads, a band he formed with his brother Perry on drums and two school friends. They cut several demos in a small two-track studio in downtown Austin but unfortunately none saw commercial release. After a spell in Southern California while Bob undertook some college work, he returned to Austin in 1966 and then re-activated The Nomads, achieving considerable regional success with the band in central Texas. In 1968, after military service, he returned to California to continue his college work. By night though he would be playing guitar, composing, and making demos using a small sound-on-sound recorder that allowed him to produce full-band tracks on his own. These brought him to the attention of a Hollywood publisher and producer who invited him to become part of a band who were then just about to sign a record deal with Liberty. The band was Sweet Pain, a Crosby, Stills & Nash style group with fairly sophisticated vocal harmonies and instrumental arrangements. Bob recorded two albums and one single, titled Timber Gibbs, with this band and an eponymous album was released on Capitol Records during 1970. Shortly afterwards, in 1972, Sweet Pain disbanded and Bob returned to college to complete his degree course. Whilst resident in California he also undertook a wide variety of session jobs which really broadened